Category Archives: Legends

Once upon a time, Austria (the Hapsburg Empire) attempted to conquer the Swiss and marched into the mountains. On July 9, 1386, they lined up to do battle with the Swiss at Sempach. The Swiss mountain men were outmanned and had inferior weapons.

Winkelreid Monument in Stans near Rosenburg, courtesy of Wikipedia

For once, obsessions with having the longer spear paid off. The Austrian’s pre-firearm spears were significantly longer than the Swiss’s short spears. This made it impossible to effectively attack the Austrians and break their line. Needless to say, the Swiss were not faring well and the outlook was bleak.

The soon to be legendary Arnold von Winkelried, knew that the Swiss would soon be defeated unless they made an opening in the Austrian’s line. Bravely, he extended his arms as far as possible, rushed toward the Austrian line and gathered as many spears as he could grasp in his arms. Legend says that he shouted, “take care of my wife and children” as he moved forward. It was either that or “who the heck pushed me”?

Nope, that’s Gollum, although Tolkien may have been making an allusion to the Golem (which becomes dangerous and makes bad decisions when it gets a soul). I realized not everyone knows about the Golem, so here it goes.

The Golem is a character in Jewish folklore that is artificially created and endowed with life. Huh? In other words, it is an animated anthropomorphic being created entirely from inanimate matter. Say what?

In the late 16th century, to protect Prague’s Jews from anti-semitic attacks, Rabbi Loew of Prague created The Golem. He took clay from the banks of the Valta River, fashioned a man from it and said incantations to bring it to life. Initially, the Golem was a big help, kind of like your own personal robot.

Unfortunately, the Golem could only follow orders. This led to some strange outcomes as he would continue doing what he’d been asked to do until he was told to stop. You can see how this could become problematic. Eventually, the Golem ran amok and had to be deactivated.

Flickr Photos

Schwingen in Switzerland

Schwingen, also known as Swiss wrestling, is one of Switzerland’s national sports. Join us as we learn about Schwingen, chocolate and everything else Swiss as American expats in Geneva. This blog chronicles our adjustment to our new lives abroad, our wonderful experiences and our continued efforts not make complete idiots of ourselves. To make the most of our adventure, we often travel in and outside of Switzerland. We also try to experience as much local culture as possible.